Stavridis says he's not joining Trump's administration

Retired Adm. James Stavridis, once vetted as a dark-horse candidate to join the Democratic presidential ticket as Hillary Clinton’s running mate, has ruled out joining the incoming administration of Donald Trump after meeting with the president-elect in Manhattan last week.

Stavridis, who is currently the dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, called his Trump Tower meeting with the president-elect “terrific” and told reporters that his willingness to consider positions in both a Democratic and Republican White House “all about service.” The retired admiral’s name was reportedly floated for secretary of state, a position Trump filled Tuesday when he announced plans to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the nation’s top diplomat.

“You're with NBC but can you go with the Trump administration, please, if asked?” MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski said as she introduced Wednesday’s “Morning Joe” panel, of which Stavridis was a part.

“I suppose I could but I will not. I am content as the dean at Fletcher,” he replied.

“Okay, well, a loss for America. A gain for Fletcher,” co-host Joe Scarborough said as Brzezinski chimed in that the retired admiral “just broke my heart.”

Even without Stavridis, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, Trump has assembled a formidable collection of former military officials in his cabinet, nominating retired Gen. James Mattis to be secretary of defense and retired gen. John Kelly to be secretary of homeland security in addition to picking retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to be national security adviser.